The French anti-trust body, the Autorite de la Concurrence, has carried out searches of Apple’s offices, wholesalers and retailers in a search for evidence into alleged anti-competitive practices by the company, reports the Les Echos newspaper (via the WSJ).

The watchdog is looking into the way Apple provides independent wholesalers and retailers with its smartphones, tablet, laptop and desktop computers, the newspaper says.

The report was light on detail, but likely relates to claims that Apple obliged retailers to buy iPhones in large quantities and to promote them heavily as a condition of stocking the phone. Not a good news day for Apple in Europe, it seems.